Stephen Gibbs began making Nantucket baskets shortly after Jose Reyes in the mid 1950s and is today generally recognized as the finest craftsman in that first generation of purse makers.
Where Reyes came into the craft from his hobby of originally making traditional Filipino baskets, Gibbs clearly approached basket making with the discipline of a fine woodworker, with the same attention to detail that a cabinet maker would use to hand cut fine dovetails. He was in fact a fine carpenter and house builder, who turned to making Nantucket baskets in 1954 after suffering a heart attack.
Stephen and his wife Loretta ran a Bed & Breakfast at the corner of North Water Street and Ash Lane and had his basket shop at his brother-in-law’s house on Madaket Road. Gibbs is considered a self-taught basket-maker, although he was certainly familiar with the craft from his childhood when his mother frequently had him run dinners to their bachelor neighbor Mitchy Ray (who taught the craft to Jose Reyes himself). His baskets are superb, sturdily woven in the finest quality. He worked with strong oak staves that taper evenly and of uniform size and stand correctly parallel. His cane weave was always tight and uniform. When handling a Gibbs basket, one has the impression that they would hold water and that you could almost stand on them! His purses are always well proportioned and stylish.
He favored using turned ivory knobs to attach the handle, and a long ivory clasp on the front to receive the peg, a feature that became almost a trademark of his baskets. Stevie Gibbs crafted his baskets for 20 years until passing away in 1974. He advanced the craft of Nantucket basketry and left a respected and admired legacy.
